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2003 Annual Meeting in Halifax

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An aerial view of Halifax highlighting Citadel Hill National Historic Site.

An aerial view of Halifax highlighting Citadel Hill National Historic Site.

The 31st Annual Meeting of the Statistical Society of Canada will be held at Dalhousie University from June 8-11, 2003. The conference is expected to attract approximately 300 registrants and will bring together researchers and users of statistics and probability from academia, government and industry. The meeting will include workshops on Mixed Effects Models for Longitudinal Data, Panel Surveys and Current Topics in Response Surface Methodology.

We look forward to welcoming you to Dalhousie University and Halifax. The conference will take place on the Dalhousie campus which is centrally located in Halifax within walking distance of all the major hotels. The Workshops and Board meeting on Sunday will take place at the Lord Nelson Hotel. You should plan to allow enough time to enjoy the city with its historic buildings, museums, the waterfront and the surrounding areas. You can get more information at www.halifaxinfo.com and at www.nstourism.com. Included in your registration fee is a lobster banquet at Pier 21, the restored immigration shed and museum on the harbour. Click here to see a map of Halifax; Dalhousie University lies just west of the star.

The Program Committee is chaired by Doug Wiens (University of Alberta).

The Local Arrangements Organizing Committee is chaired by Chris Field (Dalhousie University).

About concerns re SARS

We have received several queries regarding the recent SARS outbreak. This was largely confined to hospitals inToronto, Ontario and is now contained and diminishing. It has not affected the plans for the Halifax, Nova Scotia meeting. More information is available at the Health Canada web site.

Accommodation

Blocks of rooms have been booked at the Lord Nelson Hotel at $138 per night, at the Cambridge Suites Hotel at $149 per night and in the Dalhousie residences at $37 per night for single and $57 per night for traditional residence accommodation on campus. Participants are urged to book accommodation early as the rooms will not be held beyond April 15th. Hotel rooms can be difficult to find in Halifax in June. If you plan to stay in a hotel, I would recommend the Lord Nelson. They are the closest hotel to the campus and have given us a very competitive rate on a large block of rooms. The SSC will also benefit as the room charges for the Workshops and meetings on Sunday will be waived or reduced depending on the number of participants staying at the hotel. For any of the above accommodation, the bookings are under the Statistical Society of Canada.

Hotel reservations should be emailed directly to the reservations departments at reservations@lordnelson.ns.ca or reservations@hfx.cambridgesuites.ns.ca. Individuals are asked to indicate the group ("SSC" or "Statistical Society of Canada"), and the dates they would like to reserve. The reservation department will provide confirmations at the group rate, based on availability. The other option would be to make reservations toll-free at 1-800-565-2020 for the Lord Nelson or 1-800-565-1263 for Cambridge Suites Halifax. Do not attempt to reserve online.

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation in Halifax

The site www.halifaxinfo.com/accommodations.php includes a listing of B & B's in Halifax. Click on Halifax/Dartmouth and choose Bed and Breakfast as accommodation type. There are a number within walking distance of Dalhousie. Look for a Halifax address and something about being centrally located and/or near downtown and shopping.

Here are some suggestions from the list. We haven't stayed at any of them and so the recommendations are based on location and neighbourhood.

Verandah B&B: Edward St. Nice street very close to University. Another Era: Inglis St. Very nice residential area, easy walk to Dalhousie. Marigold: Norwood St. Nice street, easy walk to Dalhousie. Stevens Hall: Tower Rd. Street with nice Victorian homes, 10-15 minutes from Dalhousie by foot. Virginia Kinfolks: Robie St. Nice neighbourhood but on a main street, 10-15 minutes by foot from Dalhousie. Peeble B&B: Armview. Very nice residential area, probably a 20 minute walk to Dalhousie. Welcome Inn: Connaught. Good area but busy street, 20 minute walk to Dalhousie. Garden View: 6052 Williams. Neighbourhood is fine but not as nice as the ones above, 20 minute walk to Dalhousie. Pepperberry: Joseph Howe. Should be very nice but is farther from Dalhousie, probably a 30 minute walk; on a main street but set back.

Registration

Online registration is now closed. You can register after you arrive in Halifax.

Download the registration form (pdf file).

The Workshops and Sunday meetings will be held at the Lord Nelson. A registration desk will be set up in the hotel lobby from 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM on Saturday, June 7th, and from 8:00 AM until noon on Sunday, June 8th.

On Sunday the registration desk will be open from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM in the Great Hall of the University Club (Building C440 on the Studley campus map).

On Monday through Wednesday, registration will be available in the main office of the Math and Statistics Department (room 219 of Chase, building C280 on map).

Transportation

Halifax is served by several airlines with direct flights from major Canadian cities, Boston, Newark and London, England. As of January 2003, Air Canada offers the widest range of services with flights from a large range of cities. United Airlines code shares with many Air Canada flights. Canjet flies from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and St. John's to Halifax. Continental and Delta both have service to Halifax from the east coast of the US. WestJet introduced service to Halifax from Hamilton at the end of February. The airport is about 30 minutes from the city. There is a shuttle bus which stops at all the major hotels. Taxis to the city cost about $45. Enquiries about local arrangements can be directed to Chris Field.

Biostat Section/SSC Student Travel Supplements

The Biostatistics Section of the SSC is again awarding a limited number of travel supplements for selected students attending the 2003 SSC meeting, June 8-11 at Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS. In addition to the usual Biostatistics Section awards, two awards will be given by the SSC this year to be administered by the Biostatistics Section. Applications for this award will be accepted electronically until March 30, 2003.

All full-time students giving a talk in a Contributed or Invited Paper Session, or participating in a Case Study Session are eligible. In the case of multiple authors, only one award will be given per presentation. Preference will be given to students who have not received this award previously.

The award is to be used towards travel costs to the 2003 SSC Conference, up to a maximum of $500. To apply for the award, please send a cover letter, the title and abstract of your talk and a confirm letter from your supervisor about your student status to Professor John Koval (Treasurer, Biostatistics Section).

New Award in Survey Methods for Students

The Survey Methods Section of the Statistical Society of Canada is announcing a new student award for the best paper in survey methods presented at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Statistical Society of Canada. This award is open to all students registered at a Canadian university at any time in 2003. The paper must be presented in a session at the 2003 meeting and submitted to the editor of the Proceedings of the Survey Methods Section by the proceedings deadline (normally in September). The student must be the sole or the lead author, but does not have to be the presenter at the meeting. Proof of enrolment at a Canadian university should be submitted along with the paper.

A panel of experts appointed by the Executive of the Survey Methods Section will judge the papers submitted. The award will consist of a plaque and a $200 prize. The award will be announced in Liaison and on the SSC web-site.

Questions about this award can be addressed to Don Royce, President of the Survey Methods Section.

Call for Contributed Papers

The program committee is calling for contributed papers in any area of statistics and probability. These papers can be presented in one of two formats: a poster or a 15-minute talk.

Submissions will only be accepted through the conference web site.

All submissions must include the title, preferred format, speaker’s name and affiliation, co-authors if applicable, and an abstract (in both official languages if possible).

Tentative scheduling will be provided by March 15, 2003.

Late-Breaking News Session

Have you made a research or professional contribution which is of immediate interest to the public and which is newsworthy? The Statistical Society of Canada wants to give you the opportunity to present your work in a SPECIAL SESSION during the 2003 meetings in Halifax.

If you believe that your work qualifies, please submit your abstract to the program chair Doug Wiens and to session organizer Jean-François Angers. The deadline for submission is May 16, 2003.

Sessions

Three workshops and up to 40 invited sessions are planned for the conference.

Invited speakers are to submit their abstracts through the web site as described above for contributed papers.

Workshops:

  1. Biostatistics Section: Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Models, Edward F. Vonesh, Baxter Healthcare Corporation (Organizer: KC Carriere)
  2. Survey Methods Section: Panel Surveys, Pierre Lavallée, Statistics Canada (Organizer: Don Royce)
  3. Business and Industrial Statistics Section: Current Topics in Response Surface Methodology, Douglas C. Montgomery, Arizona State University (Organizer: John Brewster)

Invited Sessions (with Organizers):

The 2003 Statistics and Biostatistics Job Fair

The annual Statistics and Biostatistics Job Fair will again be held in conjunction with the SSC Annual Meeting in Halifax, NS, June 8-11, 2003.

This is an excellent opportunity for employers to secure well-qualified candidates for their positions: experienced Statisticians, Biostatisticians and graduating students. Many graduating students present the results of their research at the Annual Meeting and demonstrate their abilities by participating in the case studies data analyses. The Job Fair is also a fertile opportunity for job seekers.

The process for participation in the 2003 Job Fair is outlined below. Please note that all CVs will be sent to all participating employers (statistics and biostatistics).

For Job Seekers

For free advance registration, please send 25 hard copies (please staple!) of a curriculum vitae to Dr. Augustine Wong at the address given below, to arrive by Friday May 16, 2003. You may choose to include a cover letter. Please note that email submissions will not be accepted.

The curriculum vitae will be sent in a one-time shipment to prospective interviewers. All curriculum vitae which arrive after that date will be delivered on-site during the course of the meeting. You do not have to attend the meeting to participate in the Job Fair. However, if you will not attend please contact Gary Sneddon so that interview slots can be re-allocated.

With the curriculum vitae, please specify whether you wish to apply for industrial/commercial or academic positions or both. Also, please specify your citizenship and immigration status. Please state whether you will be attending the meeting, so we can distribute interview slots appropriately.

On-site registration will cost $25 for each job seeker. On-site registrants should bring 25 copies (stapled) of a curriculum vitae for on-site distribution. While the organizers will do their best to ensure distribution to interviewers, some delays will be inevitable, especially since many interview slots will have been allocated.

Curriculum vitae may be submitted in either official language. Bilingual individuals may want to submit them in both languages for double coverage in English and French job binders.

Since each job seeker will receive an identification number, please include an e-mail address with your application.

Job-seekers Contact:

Dr. Augustine Wong
School of Analytic Studies and Information Technology
Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies
York University
4700 Keele Street
North York ON
M3J 1P3

august@yorku.ca

For employers

Costs for on-site interviewing and the advance receipt of curriculum vitae: $250 for commercial groups, $100 for institutional groups. In fairness to all, employers are asked to not contact the job seekers until the meeting dates. Please contact Gary Sneddon at the address below for details.

After the meeting, there will be a charge to receive copies of the curriculum vitae: 1/2 the cost of your group category ($125 and $50 respectively).

Employers Contact:

Gary Sneddon
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's NL
A1C 5S7

sneddon@math.mun.ca

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